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Chapter 14: Quite charming

The Lowell Sun

Updated:
04/17/2013 06:36:16 AM EDT

The Sun's Newspaper in Education program continues its serialization of "The Sole Survivor," written by Brad Kasper and illustrated by Scott Cummins. For information about the NIE program, call 978-970-4869.

A lot of things had changed since 1926; but thankfully, the railroad system had remained pretty much intact. The three kids ambled along what they believed to be the same stretch of railroad where Marty and the rest of the Saturday Morning Club had met the young Hannah Wilcox on that fateful night.

"What are we expecting to find, her actual body?" Meg asked as they scampered around the ravine below the tracks.

"No, of course not," Bryan answered. "I just figured that coming to the actual scene might give us some idea where to start. Besides, don't you want to see where it actually took place?"

Jessica said, "It is sort of scary to think that she fell out and landed down here."

That evening, the three were back at Meg's house, laptop open. They were conducting a search on Hannah Wilcox, checking her name against obituaries and newspaper reports. They didn't find anything in the obituaries, which wasn't a complete surprise since they assumed a body was never found. What was curious, however, was there were no Minneapolis newspaper articles mentioning Hannah's disappearance.

They were stumped. They realized that unearthing the truth about Hannah Wilcox's disappearance would be even harder than it was finding Marty Smith.

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"The only piece of physical evidence that we have is that bracelet," Bryan said. "Maybe the charms themselves mean something."

"I can't see how," Jessica added. "It's just an average charm bracelet."

"What kind of charms are on it?" Bryan asked.

"Uh ... lemme see," Meg started, "a cat, a rainbow, a small child, a dog, a flower, and ... it sort of looks like a tiny medal with an apple, some horizontal lines and a rectangle on it. The whole thing looks pretty worn, so it's hard to tell."

Bryan took a look as well. "It is sort of hard to make out. Look here. There seem to be three letters on the back. M, H, E."

"That's funny," Jessica said. "I wonder what that stands for."

The three of them sat on the bed for a long while, thinking it over.

"I know!" Bryan said suddenly. "We should take this bracelet to a jeweler in the area where Hannah boarded the train. Maybe it's regional in some way. Maybe the jeweler can give us some sort of clue about where that charm -- or the entire bracelet -- came from!"

As luck would have it, the jeweler on 21st and Broadway did recognize the origin of the charm. He knew it to be the crest for Murray Hill Elementary only a few blocks away.

It was nearing five o'clock, and the kids raced over to Murray Hill, hoping the school office would still be open.

Another stroke of luck. The school's principal was working in her office.

"May I help you?" the principal asked.

Bryan spoke. "Yes, ma'am, we really hope so."

They told her about the time capsule, Marty Smith, and the dreadful 1926 train ride. They explained how they tracked Hannah Wilcox to the school by the crest on the charm bracelet. The three pleaded with the principal, Ms. James, to check the school records for a Hannah Wilcox.

"I'm terribly sorry, children," Ms. James answered softly, "but I'm afraid our school doesn't keep records more than 30 years. That would put us back only to the early 1970s."

"How about checking back that far for the Wilcox name?" Meg suggested. "Perhaps some of her relatives went to this school, too."

"That's an excellent idea." Ms. James smiled as she began to clack away on the keys of a nearby computer. "We have families who have been a part of this school for generations."

Bryan and the girls held their breath as the principal scoured the database.

"Isn't that too bad?" She finally spoke. "There doesn't seem to be even one Wilcox here for the past 30 years. I'm awfully sorry, children."

The three understood and thanked Ms. James for her time and effort.

Just then Bryan noticed a large, bronze plaque on the wall near the double doors. There were names engraved on it.

"Oh, those are the special alumni of the school. The ones who have made significant contributions to our building and students," Ms. James said.

Bryan's eye caught one of the names: Hannah Kendall, Counselor to Students from Alcoholic Families.

It wasn't Hannah Wilcox, but it got Bryan to thinking.

"Ms. James," he said, still gazing at the plaque. "What can you tell us about Hannah Kendall?"

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